Section of Holmes Run Stream Valley Trail to close for emergency sewer repair project

Holmes Run Stream Valley. [City of Alexandria]

A short section of Holmes Run Stream Valley Trail will be closed, starting the week of Oct. 23, for an emergency project to repair a sanitary sewer line, the Fairfax County Park Authority reports. Depending on the level of repairs required, an approximately 1,500-foot section of trail could be closed for up to a year.

The trail follows Holmes Run from the outfall of Lake Barcroft south to Cameron Run Regional Park. Signs will be posted at access points located east of Glasgow Middle School, south of Lillian Carey Park, and north of the Parklawn pool.

The county maintains more than 3,500 miles of sanitary sewer, the Park Authority states, and “the underground pipes rely on gravity to convey wastewater and often follow stream valleys, the areas with the lowest elevations.”

During a recent assessment of the sanitary sewer system servicing the area, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services found a failing, 1,200-foot section of cast iron pipe that stretches from Colfax Avenue to the stream valley trail. “The 1950s-era pipe needs to be addressed immediately to avoid negative environmental impacts locally and downstream,” the Park Authority states.

The project will be completed in several phases. The first phase involves mobilizing crews and machinery, creating access roads to the work site, and setting up an emergency sewer bypass system to reroute wastewater while the deteriorated pipe is repaired. There will be no interruption of sewer service, and all disturbed vegetation will be restored and trees will be replanted at the conclusion of the project.

To report a sanitary sewer emergency related to this project, contact the 24-hour Wastewater Trouble Response Center at 703-323-1211 or 703-239-8444.